|
Brief Introduction
India is one of the top-ranking countries in the field of basic research. The Indian Research and Technology Sector is regarded as one of the most powerful instruments of growth and development, especially in context of the emerging scenario and competitive economy. With an annual growth of over 12 per cent in the number of scientific publications in Science Citation Indexed journals during the last three years, India posted a significant improvement in its global ranking. Also, with respect to the number of publications and filing of patents by Indian researchers in the USA and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD countries, there is a relative improvement in the ranking of India. A significant increase in the number of PhD outputs in the country has been reported during the last five years.
The Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (GOI), holds a 50 per cent share in the Extra Mural Research funding in the country. As a result of the various initiatives taken by the GOI and the Ministry of Science and technology, there has been an increase of more than 250 per cent in the number of proposals received by the department indicating an expansion of R&D and stake holder bases.
Innovative Clusters
Enterprising initiatives in setting up Information & Communication Technology (ICT) clusters in the National Capital Region (NCR) have led to comprehensive mapping of more than 4,000 cluster stakeholders as stated in the Annual Report 2010-2011 by the Ministry of Science and Technology. A Network of ICT Entrepreneurs and enterprises (NITEE) has been formed to mentor support to more than 50 innovative entrepreneurs, and support to more than 100 entrepreneurs for participation in market development and networking events.
Government Initiatives
- The Union Budget proposal to extend the weighted tax exemption for in house Research and Development (R&D) by another 5 years to the year 2017 is expected to encourage pharmaceutical companies to invest more in the field of research and development. The budget has extended the weighted tax exemption for in house R&D, which is a significant step in promoting R&D companies to invest more in research and development
- In the Union Budget – 2012-2013, the three Departments of Science and Technology, Scientific and Industrial Research and Biotechnology under the Ministry of Science and Technology have each got a hike of about 10 per cent over the revised estimates or the actual expenditures during the current financial year
- The Department of Space and the Ministry of Earth Sciences, in charge of the India Meteorological Department and polar and ocean-related research and development respectively, have received an increase of 64 per cent and about 50 per cent respectively
- The Department of Atomic Energy has seen a hike of about 18 per cent in the current Union Budget. The Budget estimate for the coming year for the Department of Atomic Energy, is Rs 11,673 crore (US$ 2.32 billion), as against the Budget estimate of Rs 10,012 crore (US$ 1.99 billion) and revised estimate of Rs 9,895 crore (US$ 1.97 billion) for the current fiscal
- The Budget estimate for the coming year for the Department of Space is Rs 5,615 crore (US$ 1.11 billion), as against the Budget estimate of Rs 5,700 crore (US$ 1.13 billion) and revised estimate of Rs 3,432 crore (US$ 684.14 million) for the current fiscal
- The corresponding figures for Ministry of Earth Sciences Rs 1,281 crore (US$ 255.36 million), Rs 1,220 crore (US$ 243.20 million) and Rs 855 crore (US$ 170.41 million), Department of Biotechnology Rs 1,485 crore (US$ 295.99 million), Rs 1,400 crore (US$ 279.02 million) and Rs 1,350 crore (US$ 269.06 million), Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Rs 2,013 crore (US$ 401.28 million), Rs 1,930 crore (US$ 384.73 million) and Rs. 1,830 crore (US$ 364.79 million) and Department of Science and Technology Rs 2,477 crore (US$ 493.72 million) Rs 2,349 crore (US$ 468.24 million) and Rs 2,252 crore (US$ 448.83 million)
|